If feels slightly warmer this morning and my fingers remain warm as I dress. Even before getting to the mess tent I hear two avalanches, one on the Pumori side and another on the Lhotse side.
Things follow the usual pattern of breakfast then setting off to crampon point at the foot of the icefall the only difference this time is that we have larger packs.
After about an hour and a quarter there is the tell tale sound of an avalanche somewhere over to our left, but where? It's beyond the range of our head torches, everyone stops just in case it comes into view. Thankfully it passes us without incident.
Tonight it's extremely busy with Sherpas ferrying loads upto camp two and beyond. I never cease to be amazed by their stamina and speed. Whether its because we are stopping to let them pass or it's our heavier packs I feel we are going more slowly than before.
Starting at around 4.30am the night sky lightens imperceptibly at first as a new day dawns. The sky takes on a magical feel and we are able to switch off our head torches.
On the upper reaches of the ice fall there is evidence of a large avalanche that must have occurred since our last trip up. Its demolished our previous route and so we pick pur way across the new uneven ground.
We then come to a double ladder crossing and sadly the site of where a Sherpa died two days ago. For the sake of speed he chose not to clip into the handrail. Unfortunately he fell into the crevasse. His body was recovered yesterday morning by helicopter.
Almost there now, we can see the tents tantalisingly in the distance but it's another 45 minutes before we reach them.
Almost there now, we can see the tents tantalisingly in the distance but it's another 45 minutes before we reach them.
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| Camp One, the red tents are ours, Pumori in the background |
Surprisingly when I check my watch on arrival it's 7.58 just five and a half hours since we left.
Brett is just a short distance behind me so after removing my crampons I collapse into our tent and get the stove on for us to have a hot drink.
It's sunny but much windier than last time. This made the trip through the ice fall quite cold but on the plus side let us hope we won't be having 35-40 degree c temperatures in the tent.
The plan for the rest of the day is to rest and sleep.
Talking of the wind, David told us yesterday evening that our mess tent at camp two has been flattened by the high winds. Apparently the winds have been much stronger up there. It means the Sherpas are having to bring that tent down to BC and carry our communications tent up to camp two before we arrive there tommorrow.
Brett is just a short distance behind me so after removing my crampons I collapse into our tent and get the stove on for us to have a hot drink.
It's sunny but much windier than last time. This made the trip through the ice fall quite cold but on the plus side let us hope we won't be having 35-40 degree c temperatures in the tent.
The plan for the rest of the day is to rest and sleep.
Talking of the wind, David told us yesterday evening that our mess tent at camp two has been flattened by the high winds. Apparently the winds have been much stronger up there. It means the Sherpas are having to bring that tent down to BC and carry our communications tent up to camp two before we arrive there tommorrow.
Great Commentary Ian, love the detail, means that much more to me from someone I have met after all the books I have read. Glad you recovered enough to get up the icefall to Camp 2, especially as the icefall seems to be very active this year. The JG website whilst up & running is not as detailed as your blog (although it does contain photos of a number of unidentifiable climbers of your group!) so its very useful to have found your information. Take it easy and remember to always tie on.
ReplyDeleteKlaus & Angela 23 April 14:17 GMT
Dear Klaus and Angela,
DeleteThank you so much for your kind words. I'm glad you like the blog. Hope Angela's cough has settled down.
Kind regards
Ian